I find a gardening fork works best for me. Just start your digging far enough from where you think the bulb is located to avoid piercing it with a tine :-)

The garden fork worked well. It is interesting that what I believe was the bulb was almost right there at the top of the soil. It was considerably smaller than what I thought it would have been but it did resemble the bulbs I was planting.

It is doubtful that it is some other bulb in the area as it did not look like Daffodil or hyacinth. It was segmented such as a garlic or tiger lily.

If I missed it, then it will come up next year but in the wrong location than what I want....

Fritillaria imperialis produces a strong odor when damaged or handled. Otherwise it would look like a lily bulb, so you probably found it.

Shrinking of large-flowered kinds of bulbs in particular often indicates a need for fertilizer.

I noted no odor from what was dug up nor from the new ones being planted. Could the size difference be due to variety?

For now, I will have to wait until next year for results. Gardening prevents everything from happening all at once, however, my gardens are always in bloom in my mind.